Monday, February 23, 2015

When I was
in Seminary, I would preach at any church that needed a guest preacher.Sometimes we would go to churches that had
over 1,000 in attendance, and the Senior Pastor would graciously allow a
seminary student to come and preach.Sometimes we would go to these tiny little churches that had no pastor,
and they were so desperate that anyone would do – even a seminary student.

Without a
doubt the most memorable one for my wife and me was the Bethia Presbyterian
Church!It was somewhere in the
countryside of Upper South Carolina, stuck way off the beaten path.It only met for worship once each month.Presbytery had been trying to close it for
years, but the members held on.I think
their reason for being was the fact that grandma, Uncle Joe and Aunt Edna and a
lot of other kinfolk were all buried in the cemetery.The members were afraid if they closed the
church, no one would take care of the cemetery.

So they held
on, having worship every month and using inexperienced seminary students to
preach and lead worship.I remember the
first time I preached there.

My wife and
I drove up to the church and there was no one there.

Ten minutes
before the service, there was still no one there.

At 11:00, no
one was there!I was beginning to panic
because by now I was beginning to realize I was at the wrong church.

At about
five minutes after the service was to begin, the entire congregation drove up
the dirt road – all seven of them huddled together in the confines of a single
station wagon.Someone got out of the
car and went to a rock on the ground, picked it up and found the key to the
door and we all went inside.

I introduced
myself as the preacher for the day, but they were more interested in my
wife.Looking at Ginny someone asked,
“Do you play the piano?”

My wife said
she did.

The elder
said, “Good – we’ll have music this week.”

My wife and
I never knew what we were getting into as we went from church to church, and
fortunately by this time she knew to pack some emergency music to play.

While Ginny went to the piano and began to play a prelude
on an ancient piano that hadn’t been tuned in years, I stepped up to the
pulpit.Everyone else was gathered
around a pot-bellied stove trying to get a fire started – this was, by the way,
the middle of December and it was pretty cold.While no one was looking, I looked at the giant pulpit Bible and took a
deep breath and blew – and a great cloud of dust billowed forth from that
rarely used Bible.

At the end
of the day, one of the elders came up to me and shook my hand and gave me a
folded check.I thanked him and put the
check in my pocket, but my wife and I couldn’t wait to see how much this
seven-member church had paid us.We were
struggling during those seminary years and every dime counted.Once in the car, I took the check out of my
pocket and unfolded it.

Much to my
surprise, it was my own check!They gave
me back my offering!I later found out
that they always gave the visiting student preacher the ENTIRE offering –
apparently I was the only one who gave anything that week.

The most
interesting thing that happened to me that Sunday happened during the Lord’s
Prayer.I introduced the prayer as I do
today, “and now, as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray, Our Father, which
art in heaven…”

In that vast crowd of seven people, only two others were
joining with me in that prayer.One was
my wife, and she had no choice.She was
the preacher’s wife and there are certain expectations.

The other
was a little girl – the only child in the congregation.

Now that
normally would not have been a problem, but she was saying the prayer louder
and faster than I was able to say it.

I did fairly
well with the prayer and stayed focused on what I was supposed to be saying
until I was halfway through the prayer.I noticed that as I reached the halfway point, the little girl finished
the Lord’s Prayer.

Since I was
still praying, she must have felt obligated to continue to pray.Using the words of what was probably the only
other prayer she knew, she began with, “Now I lay me down to sleep.”

At that point,
I had no idea where I was in the Lord’s Prayer.Which is, by the way, the reason I always have a laminated, large print
version of the Lord’s Prayer with me in the pulpit.

Unfortunately,
that was not the only time I have seen the Lord’s Prayer confuse people. The
Lord’s Prayer ought to be the one prayer that all people memorize and that we
can all say together.But gather any
group of English speaking Christians together and what will happen?They will do just fine until they come to the
phrase, “Forgive us our…” and then let the chaos begins.Part of the group will say “debts,” part will
say “trespasses” and part will say “sins.”

I am
occasionally tempted to change the wording of the Lord’s Prayer in our worship
services.I’ve thought of trying to
please everyone by making the congregation say, “Forgive us our DEBTS, as we
forgive those who TRESPASS against us.”

So, what is
it that Jesus wanted us to say here?

This is an
interesting phrase in that the word Jesus used here is an uncommon word.The word for “sin” or “debts” or
“trespasses”is a word that is used only
one other time in the New Testament, and only once in all of the Old Testament.

There are
actually five different Greek words that are used in our New Testament for the
concept of “sin.” The most common is a hunting phrase – it means “missing the
target.”[1]

I had a
professor in Seminary who went hunting for rabbits one day.He talked about seeing a rabbit, taking aim
with his rifle, and pulling the trigger.He missed, but the rabbit was frightened and began to run.

Being a bit of a dumb bunny, the rabbit was disoriented and
began running toward the hunter.

My professor
took aim again and pulled the trigger.

He missed
again, and the rabbit kept running.It
ran right between my professor’s legs.My professor turned took aim, pulled the trigger.

And missed!

If that had happened to me, I would never have admitted
it.I would have claimed that it
happened to someone else – like maybe a seminary professor.

Missing the
target – the failure to be what God wants us to be.The failure to meet His divine
expectations.That is sin.

When Jesus
teaches the Lord’s Prayer in Luke’s Gospel, the word that is used is this very
common word for sin – “missing the mark.” But in Matthew’s Gospel, the word
Jesus used is a different, far less common word.

It has been
suggested that the fact that Matthew and Luke differ on the wording of the
Lord’s Prayer is an indication that Jesus taught his disciples about prayer
many times, and that he used slightly different versions of this prayer because
for him the Lord’s Prayer was an example for prayer.It was not meant to be a static document like
a poem or a song.Jesus meant for the
prayer to be somewhat fluid and to have some flexibility.

It is not only in the English language that there are some
variations of words – debts, trespasses, sins.It was also in the Greek language, the language of the New Testament,
that we see a variety of words.Luke
uses a common word for sin, and Matthew selects an uncommon word.

The word
that Matthew uses is a financial word that means debt, or a failure to pay that
which is due.[2]It is used in only two other places in the
Bible, and in both instances, it is a financial term.[3]However, it was used in some of the
non-religious literature as a word referring to sin.

The
philosopher Plato used this word as a child’s obligation to pay the debt he or
she owed to the parents.[4]God is described in the Lord’s Prayer as our
Heavenly Father, and we owe him a debt.He has done much for him, we therefore ought to give Him honor, praise,
obedience, and yet we fall short of paying that debt.We always will.

That
explains two versions of the Lord’s Prayer – “forgive us our sins/forgive us
our debts”-- but where does the word
“trespasses” come from?It comes from
the words Jesus says after the prayer.“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.”

The word
that is used there for sin is neither one of the other two words we have
discussed – missing the mark or owing a debt of obedience.The word here refers to stepping into some
place you have no business being – and the English word for that is
“trespassing.”[5]

You’ve seen
those signs in the woods and in the countryside.

“No
Trespassing!”

“Violators
will be shot.”

“Survivors
will be shot again!”

But it is
more than simply walking willingly into a place where you don’t belong.The word conveys the idea of slipping into a
place.

I remember
when I was a teenager and I was driving my car down a country road.It had been raining and it was a bit
slippery, but I knew I had control of the car.And I did have control -- until the pavement vanished and I found myself
on a dirt road.Perhaps I should say,
“Mud road.”

I suddenly
went into a skid.

Fortunately,
I had take Driver’s Education in high school a year before this happened.Driver’s Ed had taught me to turn in the
direction of the skid, which seemed reasonable when I was in a classroom taking
Driver’s Ed.But now I was on the road
and this was real life.Turning in the
direction of the skid seemed dumb.I
realized I probably had not been paying attention in class and I must have
misunderstood.So I did the reasonable
thing.I turned in the direction in
which I wanted to car to turn.

So there I
was, driving 60 miles per hour down a mud road – sideways.

Eventually I
came to rest in ditch.

“Forgive us
when we slip off the path!”

“Sin/debts/trespasses
and slipping off the path” are words that imply the destructiveness that sin
can have on our lives.

·Missing the mark – we aim for the target of living a godly life, and we
miss.

·Debts – we owe an obedience to God, and we don’t even try to pay
it.

·Trespasses – our lives skid out of control and we end up in a place
we don’t want to be in life.

Life is complicated, and so is
sin.No one simple concept captures it
all.We need healing that is complete in
all of the facets of sinfulness.That is
why this phrase is in the Lord’s Prayer.It is helpful for there to be such variety in the wording.

But this
petition is not that simple.It does not
just address our sins. It says, “Forgive us – as we forgive others.”

The
theologically shortsighted person would say, “If we expect to be forgiven, we
have to also forgive others.”Now that
is a horrible thought – that God would wait to see how forgiving we are, and
then match us.Is God’s mercy like some
sort of dollar for dollar matching in one’s retirement program?You put a dollar in the fund and the company
puts in a dollar. You forgive someone’s sin, and God forgives one of yours?

No – that is not how the mercy of God works.

Remember the
context of this prayer.The people
praying this prayer are Christians.They
are citizens of heaven.And much of the
prayer concerns the Kingdom of God.In
other words, these people have already been forgiven.They have received God’s free grace.And now they are being expected to live in
that forgiveness.

Tom Long in
his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel says, “Being a citizen of God’s kingdom,
like being a citizen of a nation, is not just an idea; it is an identity, a way
of life.To be a citizen of the kingdom
of heaven is to see the world in kingdom ways and to practice the customs of
that kingdom, such as forgiveness.”[6]

Placed in
the context of his larger message, Dr. Long says that the word Jesus is giving
on forgiveness is this:“You who follow
me are citizens of the kingdom of heaven.In the kingdom all that is harmful is absent, all that is evil is
destroyed, all that is sick is healed, and all that is sinful is forgiven.You are called to be faithful citizens of
that kingdom, serving others and forgiving them over and over again, so that
the whole world will know that God is a forgiving God.If you do not practice forgiveness, you are
rejecting your own identity and saying, ‘I no longer want to be a citizen of
the kingdom.’”

Long
concludes that forgiveness is not a matter of bookkeeping.You forgive X number of sins, God forgives
you X number of sins.No – it is more
like breathing.Breath in.Breath out.Be forgiven.Be forgiving.In and out.Breath in.Breath out.Be forgiven. Be forgiving.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

“In the middle of the Lord’s
Prayer there is a distinct division. You
see it in the pronouns. In the first
three petitions we are taught to say ‘thy.’
‘thy name,’ thy kingdom,’ ‘thy will.’
But in the last three petitions are ‘us’ and ‘our’. First, we think of God, then we can
rightfully think of ourselves.”

“The Lord’s Prayer – an
interpretation” by Charles L. Allen,
page 40.

The
phrase we look at this morning is "Give us this day our daily
bread." Two simple words -- daily
bread -- are actually not that simple.
They are like that archaeological dig.
The more you look at those simple words, the more there is to discover.

Let's
take a look at the word DAILY.

DAILY
is such a common word in our vocabulary.
But the interesting thing is that when Matthew wrote the Lord's Prayer
in his Gospel, the word that was used for DAILY was far from a common word.[1] In all Greek literature, the word that is
translated as DAILY appears nowhere else except here in the Lord's Prayer. We're talking about 1000s of books, millions
of scraps of paper that have survived in museums and archives, and not one of
them uses this word that Matthew uses for daily.

Oh
wait -- there is one. It is a scrap of
paper that was apparently a shopping list -- a grocery list. On that piece of paper is the word DAILY.

Even
though the word is so rare, it is easy to translate because it is a combination
of two common words. We do the same
thing today, for example a pistol is often referred to as a hand-gun. Two words used together to refer to a
weapon. Or a trolley is often called a street-car. You get the point.

Matthew
and Luke both record the Lord’s Prayer with a word for “daily” that combines
two common words and it has left scholars struggling with what Jesus meant with
this prayer.[2]

The
combination of words that we translate as DAILY can be understood as "give
us today what we need for tomorrow."
That sounds wonderful, but it is out of touch with the rest of the
Gospel teachings. After all, it was
Jesus who said immediately after teaching his disciples to pray the Lord's
Prayer, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, what you will wear or what you
will eat. Today has enough
concerns." (Matthew 6:25)

Other
scholars have said that this unusual word for DAILY means "the day's
necessary things."

Anyone
who has ever taken a look at the food labels on cartons has seen the
explanation of the vitamins and minerals and calories. One phrase on that label is "daily
minimum requirement." Food makers
sell cereal based on how it has 100% of the daily minimum requirement.

So
with this meaning, the prayer asks only for what we need -- not for what we
want, but what we need.

Actually,
I believe the answer is both.

In
the Lord's Prayer we are praying that God will give us today what we will need
for tomorrow, so that we will not have to be anxious for things.

And
it also means that we are asking only for what we need. Not what we want.

As
a pastor strangers are often coming into my office asking for help. They want money, gas for the car,
whatever. Sometimes, people ask for
things they don't need. The most extreme
case was several years ago someone came to the church asking for money -- here
was a person who had been out of work for sometime. He asked the church for $1,000. That far exceeded anything we had ever given
anyone. Why did he need it? He wanted to buy a new television.

Churches
often help those in need, but only to provide what the Lord's Prayer says --
the daily and minimum requirements. The
church is not obligated to provide for the luxuries of life. But we are called to help people with the
necessities of life -- food, clothing, and shelter. Not televisions.

When
we pray to God using the Lord's Prayer, we are asking that we receive only the
things we absolutely need, and that we receive them in such a time that we do
not become anxious about tomorrow.

The
other word I want us to look at is BREAD.
That is a simple word in either Greek or English. But as simple as it is, it is like that
archaeological dig. The deeper you dig
the more you find.

When
I was a teenager, BREAD meant money. I'd
go up to my father and say, "Hey man, give me some daily bread," and
that meant I wanted my allowance.

Bread
does, in fact, mean a lot of different things.
In the Lord’s Prayer it can mean four things.

V

First,
it can refer to the bread of the Lord's Supper.
The bread on the Lord’s Table is no ordinary bread. Different churches use different types of
bread. Some use small wafers of bread
that are paper-thin discs of pressed bread that often have Christian symbols
pressed into the design. Others use
bread baked in shapes that look more like an after dinner mint than bread. One church I went to actually used a saltine
cracker. In many churches you will find
a wonderful loaf of homemade bread.

But
it is always bread. It is just bread,
and yet it is always more than just bread.

It
is the body of Christ, broken for us.

St. Augustine tells us
that in his time, the 5th Century, the Sacrament was received daily in some
places. So giving us our daily bread, for some people, became identified with
receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

But even in
Churches where the Sacrament was not received daily, the Lord's Prayer has
still been viewed as having to do with Holy Communion. For such people, the petition, "give us
this day our daily bread," has meant that we ought to always be in a spirit and attitude of communion with Christ
and His Church.

V

A
second meaning for this word BREAD has to do with the symbolic bread as the
Word of God.

There
is a wonderful old hymn, "Break Thou The Bread of Life," which many
people think of as a Communion Hymn. It
is not a Communion hymn at all. It has
to do with the Scriptures. Breaking the
bread of life has to do with opening the Bible and feeding on the Word of God.

Break
thou the bread of life

Dear Lord
to me

As thou
didst break the loaves

Beside the
Sea.

Beyond the
sacred page

I seek
thee Lord,

My spirit
longs for thee

O living
Word.

We
need to be fed daily, not only in our physical needs, but also for our
intellectual and emotional and every other aspect of our being, including our
spiritual knowledge. Many have
traditionally believed that the Lord's Prayer is a request that we be fed
spiritually.

V

A
third interpretation of this word BREAD is that it is a reference to Jesus
himself.
Jesus, after all, calls himself the bread of life in the Gospel of John
(6:33-35). In that sense the prayer becomes
a petition that we receive Jesus Christ who is the bread of life.

This would not
only mean in terms of receiving Christ for our salvation but in a daily senses,
as the Lord's Prayer implies. In other
words, developing a sense of Christ's daily presence.

V

There
is even a fourth interpretation to the meaning of the word BREAD. There is every possibility that it might just
be as simple as referring to bread. “Give us today our daily bread” could mean
simply “give us real bread,” the kind you used to make this morning's toast and
the kind you'll use to make your sandwich for your midnight snack.

There
is no reason why it cannot mean all four. Think of those terrible standardized
tests students take in school. Given the
choices of A, B, C, or D, there was often the choice of E – “All of the
above.” When we pray for our “daily
bread” we might find ourselves praying at any given time for any one or more of
these wonderful choices.